While studying at the Ole Bull Academy, we (John Ole Morken and Olav Luksengård Mjelva) became aware of the collection of notated music compiled by Erik Johannesen Haugen from Røros and Ålen. A few years earlier John Ole had been given the opportunity to examine the music collected by Anders Haugen (1852- 1927) from Ålen. There he discovered some minuets and polonaises, which had been copied from Erik J. Haugen’s notations. Later John Ole got hold of a copy of the collection at the archives of the Norwegian Center for Traditional Music and Dance. What was unique about this music book was that the music

was written for two parts, and in the rehearsal room we played through the entire collection from start to nish. This provided us with the inspiration for the project Musicus. We had both heard the stories of “storingsmusikk” in Røros: music that the “lofty gentlemen” at the Røros Copper Works danced to.

In the winter of 2006-2007 we both had time to delve more deeply into the project. The archives were visited, music notation was copied, and a selection was made. In order to ensure that the music was stylistically correct we consulted baroque music specialists who knew how it had been played, and we ourselves could also make use of our knowledge of folk music. We

hope that we have been able to approximate the performance style that the musicians of the Røros area must have used when this music was written down.

In 2007 we both felt that the project needed time to mature, and we decided to revive it when the time seemed right. In 2013 we resumed work on it, and since then we have spent some time organising a recording of this material. This is an important part of folk music and history in the Røros area, and few people are even aware of its existence. Now we want to bring it into focus again!

We were lucky enough to have an all-star team of musicians join us for this recording: Trygve Brøske on cembalo and organ, Anders Lö erg on cello, Hans Fredrik Jacobsen on bagpipes, saxophone and utes, and Hans Hulbækmo on percussion, in addition to the two of us on ddles. We spent several days rehearsing to gain a more intimate feeling for the music that

had survived on paper. The music we discovered in Erik J. Haugen’s book was technically demanding
and challenging. Many of the melodies are written in at keys and are notated in detail with ornaments. We found a more informal version of this music in the notation of Johan A. Hveding from Trondheim. The melodies we have learned from this music book are very reminiscent of the folk music of today that has been passed down through generations. In the notation collections of Ole C. Prytz of Røros we have found “polser”, types of dance tunes that bear a close similarity to the minuets of the 1700s. We have made no attempt to be musically “trendy”, but have drawn inspiration from the folk music of today and from baroque music. For this reason we have called it “folk baroque”.

In his music book Erik J. Haugen called himself “Musicus at Røraas Works”, and we were inspired
to borrow this expression for our project. We hope that this release will help to cast light on an aspect of the Røros music tradition that has been relatively unknown until now.